Becoming a flight nurse?

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I am a registered nurse, and someday would LOVE to become a flight nurse. Where do you even begin to make that happen? I am sure there is more schooling, but what all does it intell?

Specializes in ER/ICU/Flight.

Wow! that's too bad about the new grads not finishing their contracts in order to go to anesthesia school!

and yeah, there's no way anyone can predict based on initial education...but we've seen a few come through that we bet correctly on from day #1!! and sometimes it wasn't a bet we wanted to be right about!

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getoverit said:
thanks for replying.

That's interesting about your hospital and the SICU nurses. Where I work, it's the same thing but for MICU nurses. True, the swans and LVADs are more common in SI, but to be honest I've never had to fly someone with a swan. things like vents, gtts, hemodynamics, IABP, etc are much more common for us. also, the MI nurses carry code and rapid response pagers.

and about the education thing...I see this debated so much. I don't think that associates vs bachelors or higher makes much difference in this line of work. for a managment position, I can understand; but for a clinical nurse, the degree isn't as important to me as their understanding of pathophys and "getting it from your head to your hands". There are exceptions but some of the sharpest RNs I ever worked with had gone to a diploma program; and some with master's degrees were definitely not the ones you wanted helping in an emergency.

thanks again and take care!

Swan? Have you worked in an ICU in the last 10 years?

When you fail to see how education can advance a profession, it is time for you to quit and get totally out of patient care. Unlike most of your information, medicine can not stay in the 1970s. If you want to grow as a professional, promote growth within the profession instead of applauding the least educated for not advancing to the next level. If they are good with a certificate or 2 year technical degree imagine what they could do if they acquired more education.

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Specializes in burn ICU, SICU, ER, Trauma Rapid Response.
TraumaSurfer said:
If they are good with a certificate or 2 year technical degree imagine what they could do if they acquired more education.

*** I would heartily agree with you, _IF_ the BSN actually had any nursing component to it beyond what was taught in the associates degree program. But it doesn't. I know I went through the whole program at a state university.

Education is of course very valuable but there are many ways to educate ones self besides formal education for credit at a degree granting college or university.

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PMFB-RN said:
*** I would heartily agree with you, _IF_ the BSN actually had any nursing component to it beyond what was taught in the associates degree program. But it doesn't. I know I went through the whole program at a state university.

Education is of course very valuable but there are many ways to educate ones self besides formal education for credit at a degree granting college or university.

Do you believe reading, writing and math classes are a waste of time? Just the tech stuff is good enough to make a well rounded professional? No need for understanding any of that research stuff which might provide for more implimentation of EBM instead of "the way we've always done it is good enough". No need to understand the health care system other than at a task level? Yes even an Intro the Healthcare Management can be very informative and you can then grumble about management and costs from a more informed perspective. No room for growth except for a few more tech skills? Checking off the tasks will suffice? If you go before any legislative body to petition for increased benefits, are you just going to carry a folder of CEUs from one day courses given out for just being there to show how educated you are? Don't let your attitude against education or the advancement of nursing as a profession prevent you from seeing any benefit from your college education. I have found a use for every course I took in college even if it was not directly about medicine. It takes more than just a few tech classes to make one a literate professional who can use their educational foundation for growth which also includes in their personal lives.

Nursing has already started down the path for the BSN to become the expected degree. It is long past due since the other hospital professsions have passed them by in education and professional recognition. Don't expect medicine to stand still for those who want to remain at 1980 standards of training and education.

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Specializes in burn ICU, SICU, ER, Trauma Rapid Response.

do you believe reading, writing and math classes are a waste of time? just the tech stuff is good enough to make a well rounded professional? no need for understanding any of that research stuff which might provide for more implimentation of ebm instead of "the way we've always done it is good enough". no need to understand the health care system other than at a task level?

*** um, you replied to my message and yet seem to have either not read it at all, or somehow leapt to a wildly inaccurate conclusion as to my views.

yes even an intro the healthcare management can be very informative and you can then grumble about management and costs from a more informed perspective.

*** "management" classes taught in bsn programs are a joke and a perfect example of the need to strengthen the bsn curriculum. i judge them to be a joke based on my experience taking them and comparing them to the management classes offered from the same university but in a different field. another indication that they are entirely inadequate is the very, very low level of professionalism among bsn prepared nurse manager i have experienced in the 16 or so years i have been a nurse, as compared to the level of professionalism i experienced from bachelor's degree educated management in my previous field.

no room for growth except for a few more tech skills? checking off the tasks will suffice? if you go before any legislative body to petition for increased benefits, are you just going to carry a folder of ceus from one day courses given out for just being there to show how educated you are? don't let your attitude against education or the advancement of nursing as a profession

*** again you have either failed to read my message at all, or chose to reach a wildly inaccurate conclusion completely unsupported by my statements. i wonder did you education include a reading comprehension course?

prevent you from seeing any benefit from your college education.

*** like a great many adn rns i already had a college education before i became an rn. being so educated allowed me to compare the rigor of my previous bs to that of the bsn. both were taken at the same university (university of wisconsin madison). the bsn is indeed full of fluff and lacking rigor.

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Specializes in Nephrology, Cardiology, ER, ICU.

Okay now - lets have a review of the rules:

1. Don't engage other posters.

2. If there is a disagreement and its getting personal, either report it, step back from it or ignore it.

3. Yes, the moderators do moderate the site and no, its not becoming a professional to behave unprofessionally.

4. Keep to the topic of the thread.

5. Thank you.

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Specializes in Cardiothoracic ICU.

I am just at the end of my education and would have to agree that the BSN degree has absolutely no advantage to bedside or critical care knowledge. It is more about writing papers and community nursing and such....a waste of time in the name of "education".

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Specializes in icu/er.

the bsn pathway is suppose to allow you to be exsposed to the education that can make you evolve into a more complete and rounded nurse. ie..with such issues as community nursing, more and greater enphasis on ebp and researching that is only slightly covered in the generic adn programs. in essence, it is a stepping stone or educational pathway that leads you into the msn route. nobody can claim that it makes you a more skilled and technically proficient bedside nurse. it is what it is, and it is up to the student, new graduate and nurse to take what they have learned and transfer it to their daily practice as they see fit.

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Specializes in burn ICU, SICU, ER, Trauma Rapid Response.
RN1980 said:
the BSN pathway is suppose to allow you to be exsposed to the education that can make you evolve into a more complete and rounded nurse. ie..with such issues as community nursing, more and greater enphasis on ebp and researching that is only slightly covered in the generic ADN programs. in essence, it is a stepping stone or educational pathway that leads you into the MSN route. nobody can claim that it makes you a more skilled and technically proficient bedside nurse. it is what it is, and it is up to the student, new graduate and nurse to take what they have learned and transfer it to their daily practice as they see fit.

*** I would agree but IMO "suppose" is the key word. In my opnion my BSN (at a Big Ten state university) program did no such thing and lacked rigor. As do the other BSN progams I have looked into.

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Specializes in icu/er.

i too felt my bsn upgrade program was alittle lite and heavy on busy work, but overall easy. however, im sure other graduates of a traditional bsn course would claim differently, since there is a huge difference in taking a online open book quiz at home vs. a weekly traditional exams in class.

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